Chrysanthemum plant named &#39;dark yodanville&#39;

ABSTRACT

A distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Dark Yodanville’, characterized by its uniform and upright plant habit; strong, moderately vigorous, and freely branching growth habit; dark green foliage; uniform flowering response; early flowering, eight-week response time; large decorative-type inflorescences that are about 9.2 cm in diameter; purple ray florets that twist slightly as inflorescences develop; and excellent postproduction longevity with plants maintaining good substance and color for at least four weeks in an interior environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofChrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemum×morifolium andhereinafter referred to by the name ‘Dark Yodanville’.

[0002] The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a planned breeding programconducted by the Inventor in Fort Myers, Fla. The objective of thebreeding program is to create new potted Chrysanthemum cultivars thatare suitable for year-round production with uniform plant growth habit,good vigor, desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, fastresponse time, and excellent postproduction longevity.

[0003] The new Chrysanthemum is a naturally-occurring whole plantmutation of a proprietary induced mutation that originated by exposingunrooted cuttings of a proprietary Chrysanthemum seedling selectionidentified as YB-5273, not patented, to X-ray radiation. The newChrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a singleflowering plant within a population of plants of the irradiatedselection in April, 1998, in Fort Myers, Fla. The selection of thisplant was based on its uniform plant growth habit, good vigor, desirableinflorescence form and floret colors, fast response time, and excellentpostproduction longevity. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum differprimarily from plants of the parent selection and the cultivarsYodanville, Orange Yodanville and Yellow Yodanville, U.S. Plant patentapplications filed concurrently with this application, in ray floretcolor.

[0004] Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by vegetative tipcuttings was first conducted in Fort Myers, Fla. in July, 1998. Asexualreproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this newChrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successivegenerations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The cultivar Dark Yodanville has not been observed under allpossible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature, daylength, and/or lightlevel, without, however, any variance in genotype.

[0006] The following traits have been repeatedly observed and aredetermined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Dark Yodanville’. Thesecharacteristics in combination distinguish ‘Dark Yodanville’ as a newand distinct Chrysanthemum:

[0007] 1. Uniform and upright plant habit.

[0008] 2. Strong, moderately vigorous, and freely branching growthhabit.

[0009] 3. Dark green foliage.

[0010] 4. Uniform flowering response.

[0011] 5. Typically grown as a disbud-type.

[0012] 6. Early flowering, eight-week response time.

[0013] 7. Large decorative-type inflorescences that are about 9.2 cm indiameter.

[0014] 8. Purple ray florets that twist slightly as the inflorescencesdevelop giving inflorescences a cactus-dahlia appearance.

[0015] 9. Excellent postproduction longevity with plants maintaininggood substance and color for at least four weeks in an interiorenvironment.

[0016] Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of thecultivar Pomona, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,802. In side-by-sidecomparisons conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif., plants of thenew Chrysanthemum differ from plants of the cultivar Pomona in thefollowing characteristics:

[0017] 1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower about one week earlierthan plants of the cultivar Pomona.

[0018] 2. Ray floret color of the new Chrysanthemum is darker than rayfloret color of the cultivar Pomona.

[0019] 3. Under high light conditions, ray floret color of the newChrysanthemum does not fade whereas ray floret color of plants of thecultivar Pomona fades.

[0020] 4. Inflorescences of the new Chrysanthemum produce more rayflorets than inflorescences of the cultivar Pomona.

[0021] 5. Inflorescences of the new Chrysanthemum produce fewer discflorets than inflorescences of the cultivar Pomona.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

[0022] The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overallappearance of the new Chrysanthemum showing the colors as true as it isreasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type.Colors in the photographs may differ from the color values cited in thedetailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors ofthe new Chrysanthemum. The photograph at the top of the sheet comprisesa top perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Dark Yodanville’grown a disbud-type. The photograph at the bottom of the sheet comprisesa close-up view of typical inflorescences of ‘Dark Yodanville’ grown asa disbud-type.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

[0023] In the following description, color references are made to TheRoyal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms ofordinary dictionary significance are used. The following observationsand measurements describe plants grown and flowered during the autumn inSalinas, Calif., in a fiberglass-covered greenhouse and under conditionswhich approximate those generally used in commercial pottedChrysanthemum production. During the production of these plants, thefollowing conditions were measured: day temperatures, 21 to 27° C.;night temperatures, 17 to 19° C.; and light levels, 4,000 to 6,000foot-candles. Four unrooted cuttings were directly stuck in 15-cmcontainers, exposed to long day/short night conditions, and pinched onceabout 14 days later. At that time, the photoinductive short day/longnight treatments were started. Plants used for this description weregrown as disbud-types. Measurements and numerical values representaverages of typical flowering plants.

[0024] Botanical classification: Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar DarkYodanville.

[0025] Commercial classification: Decorative-type potted Chrysanthemum.

[0026] Parentage: Naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of aproprietary Chrysanthemum×morifolium induced mutation, not patented.

[0027] Propagation:

[0028]Type.—Terminal tip cuttings.

[0029]Time to initiate roots.—About four days at 21° C.

[0030]Time to produce a rooted cutting.—About ten days at 21° C.

[0031]Root description.—Fibrous and well-branched.

[0032] Plant description:

[0033]Appearance.—Herbaceous decorative-type potted Chrysanthemumtypically grown as a disbud-type. Stems upright and outwardly spreadinggiving a uniformly mounded appearance to the plant. Freely branching,about four lateral branches develop after removal of terminal apex(pinching); dense and full plants. Moderate vigor.

[0034]Plant height.—About 25 cm.

[0035]Plant width.—About 42 cm.

[0036]Lateral branches.—Length: About 22 cm. Diameter: About 4.5 mm.Internode length: About 1.5 cm. Strength: Very strong. Texture:Pubescent. Color: 144A to 146A.

[0037]Foliage description.—Arrangement: Alternate. Quantity of leavesper lateral stem: About 15. Length: About 8.5 cm. Width: About 6.6 cm.Apex: Cuspidate. Base: Mostly truncate. Margin: Palmately lobed, sinusesbetween lateral lobes mostly divergent. Texture: Upper and lowersurfaces with very fine pubescence; veins prominent on lower surface.Color: Young foliage, upper surface: Darker than 147A; glossy. Youngfoliage, lower surface: 147B. Mature foliage, upper surface: Darker than147A; glossy. Mature foliage, lower surface: 147B. Venation, uppersurface: 147A. Venation, lower surface: 147B. Petiole length: About 1.75cm. Petiole diameter: About 3 mm. Petiole color: 147B.

[0038] Inflorescence description:

[0039]Appearance.—Decorative-type inflorescence form with elongatedoblong-shaped ray florets. Inflorescences borne on terminals abovefoliage. Disk and ray florets arranged acropetally on a capitulum. Notfragrant. Typically grown as a disbud-type.

[0040]Flowering response.—Under natural conditions, plants flower in theautumn/winter in the Northern Hemisphere. At other times of the year,inflorescence initiation and development can be induced under shortday/long night conditions (at least 13.5 hours of darkness). Earlyflowering; plants exposed to two weeks of long day/short nightconditions followed by photoinductive short day/long night conditionsflower about 53 days later when grown during the summer and flower about58 days later when grown during the winter.

[0041]Postproduction longevity.—Inflorescences maintain good color andsubstance for at least four weeks in an interior environment.

[0042]Quantity of Inflorescences.—Produced as a disbud-type, all thelateral inflorescences are removed leaving only the terminalinflorescence.

[0043]Inflorescence bud.—Height: About 6 mm. Diameter: About 9 mm.Color: Close to 143A.

[0044]Inflorescence size.—Diameter: Large, about 9.2 cm. Depth (height):About 2.6 cm. Diameter of disc: About 7 mm, inconspicious. Receptaclediameter: About 1.2 cm.

[0045]Ray florets.—Shape: Elongated-oblong. Orientation: Initiallyupright, then about 90° from vertical or perpendicular to the peduncle.Aspect: Initially incurved to flat to somewhat convex and slightlytwisted. Length: About 4.5 cm. Width: About 1.3 cm. Corolla tube length:About 3.5 mm. Apex: Emarginate. Base: Attenuate; short corolla tube.Margin: Entire. Texture: Smooth, glabrous, satiny. Number of ray floretsper inflorescence: Numerous, about 305. Color: When opening, uppersurface: Initially, 145B to 145C, then 70B. When opening, lower surface:75C. Fully opened, upper surface: 70B to 70A. Fully opened, lowersurface: 75C to 75A, towards apex, 70B.

[0046]Disc florets.—Arrangement: Massed at center of receptacle,inconspicuous. Shape: Tubular, elongated. Apex: Five-pointed. Length:About 5.5 mm. Width: Apex, about 1.5 mm; base, about 1 mm. Number ofdisc florets per inflorescence: About 42. Color: Immature: 144A to 154A.Mature: Apex: 9A. Mid-section and base: Close to 145D to 155D.

[0047]Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only.Anther color: 9A to 12A. Pollen amount: None. Gynoecium: Present on bothray and disc florets.

[0048]Seed.—Seed production has not been observed.

[0049] Disease resistance: Resistance to pathogens common toChrysanthemums has not been observed on plants grown under commercialgreenhouse conditions.

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plantnamed ‘Dark Yodanville’, as illustrated and described.